Professor University of Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Abstract: Renewable oil products and derivatives find their uses and applications far beyond foods and biofuels. Development and engineering of new processing technologies are essential for expanding the new uses of oils and fats, and enriching the value chain toward a circular economy to conserve our natural resources. It is imperative that new processing technologies must emphasize energy efficiency and impact to our environment in addition to performance. In this presentation, I will share my experience with the development and engineering of novel technologies to generate value-added products from oils and fats, including the projects of using near-critical water, supercritical carbon dioxide, and nonthermal plasma catalysis to convert glycerol to acrolein and acrylic acid; and using nonthermal plasma induced oil polymers in situ to dye recalcitrant para-aramid textile. I will also share my experience in attending and serving the AOCS meetings, and publishing in JAOCS, which stimulated and boosted the development of new technologies.
